


Ribbon

by exitium



Category: Of Knights & Royalty, Original Work
Genre: Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Original Character(s), Original Universe, kiss day, runi's an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25002130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exitium/pseuds/exitium
Summary: She feels bad enough about her meltdown, but she feels even worse that because of it, their plans have gone awry. The boat ride her parents scheduled for them had to wait. The restaurant they had dinner reservations at never seated them. They were supposed to take pictures. It was supposed to be stress-free. It was supposed to be fun! But she ruined it...All because she lost her ribbon and didn’t notice until Toni said, “Your hair…”
Relationships: Antonius Vargus | Toni/Runi Fierran
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1
Collections: Of Knights & Royalty





	Ribbon

**Author's Note:**

> once again, toni belongs to mes owo :3 xD!

“I’m so sorry.” The words slip out of her mouth as she flashes him a guilty look, one that he meets with an irritated frown. It only makes her feel worse. “I’m so sorry, _really,_ I’m so sorry.”

“Enough.” Toni sighs. That word is today’s broken record, in harmony with Runi’s blundered apologies. 

She can’t help it.

She feels _bad enough_ about her meltdown, but she feels even worse that because of it, their plans have gone awry. The boat ride her parents scheduled for them had to wait. The restaurant they had dinner reservations at never seated them. They were supposed to take pictures. It was supposed to be _stress free._ It was supposed to be fun! But she ruined it...

All because she lost her ribbon and didn’t notice until Toni said, “ _Your hair…”_

And just their luck, as they were looking for it in the narrow streets of Oia, Santorini, rain started to pour. They had to go find shelter under an open dome, held up by four pillars.

“I should have known better,” Runi runs a hand through her hair. Anxiety shoots through her veins. She grabs hold of her hair and holds it with a fist, like a makeshift ponytail. “Tied it tighter. The wind was strong today and it just- came undone, I’m so sorry-”

“I said, stop apologizing. Seriously, Runi. It’s whatever.” He crosses his arms and leans against one of the ivory pillars, seemingly unbothered by the rain spittle. Toni opens his mouth, then closes it. He opens it again, then sighs once more. “I don’t think we’ll find your ribbon. You know that, right?”

It’s the truth. The wind stole it and then ran away with it like it’s life depended on making hers miserable. Runi fidgets with her hair, pouting, “I know…” 

Toni raises a brow. “You knew, and yet you still begged me to help you look for it. I was fine with buying you a new one, but you said no. I can understand sentiment, Runi… But-”

She knows what he’s going to say. She knows, _she knows,_ and she’s so sorry. Runi panicked in the heat of the moment when she realized the dark blue ribbon was no longer holding her hair up; everything else became white noise. So much for their travel plans. This was supposed to be a fun adventure for the two of them. It was to travel and see the world and their first stop was Greece.

Runi knew that there was so much more to it than that. Maybe Toni felt suffocated, maybe Toni wanted to escape. Maybe he wanted to find inspiration. Maybe there was something he was looking for that he couldn’t find at home. Whatever his reasons, she was compelled to accompany him.

For selfish reasons, yes. But for other reasons, too. Like… If this is a soul-searching experience, wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend come along? 

“I-I know,” she begins, and then clears her throat. “I know that it’s silly to be worked up about a ribbon-”

“Runi, no, that’s not what I-”

“-and I know… That you could have bought me another one, but this one is irreplaceable.”

Toni furrows his brows. A look of understanding crosses his eyes, and he nods once. His hand drifts to the necklace around his neck, clutching the flower pendant gently. “I understand.” 

“I’m just mad at myself for losing it…” She wishes she could _shut up._ Let it go. But her mouth is faster than her mind, firing off every stray thought she feels. And it’s the truth. She _is_ mad.

“Did it mean that much to you?” His voice is like an arrow amongst the cacophony of rainfall and muddled thoughts. Runi’s eyes flit from the gray skies to him leaning against the pillar, arms crossed. 

_Yes._ “Yes,” she says. When she’s met with silence, she realizes he’s expecting an explanation; and suddenly it catches up to her, why she felt her heart drop to her stomach. “I, um…”

“Come on, Runi. You made me run around town for nothing.” Toni’s smile is small but kind. It coaxes a smile from her too as she sighs, slowly approaching him. “I mean, you don’t have to say. I wouldn’t ever force you.”

“I know,” she stops just in front of him. She can smell his scent, mint and something tangy, pleasant. “It’s just kind of… Aaah…” 

“If it’s embarrassing, I definitely want to hear it.”

Runi tilts her head back and laughs. “No, no, I think it will make your heart flutter. Like… doki doki.”

“I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

She laughs again. “But you have to promise not to laugh at me.”

“Oh, cross my heart,” his smile turns into something more amused as he draws an x overtop his chest. “If it doesn’t make my heart flutter, I’m paying for takeout today.”

Pay for… but why would he? That’s not a win for him, so-- _Oh._ She gets it. Sneaky. 

“What?! Well, the stakes are definitely raised now, so it’s on!” 

“Go on, then.”

Well. It’s a lot easier to imagine saying it. Runi scratches the back of her neck, suddenly nervous. Especially with how he looks at her so earnestly, no malice in his eyes. Especially with how close they are… This is so _romantic,_ she thinks, as her eyes dart to his shirt. Slightly drenched, his warm brown skin peeks out from underneath. His tattoo is almost prominent. 

She’s getting distracted. Shit.

“Um… Do you remember when Hazel took my phone?”

Something dark passes over his eyes. “Yeah…?”

“I ran into you, and you followed after me.” The memory is so vivid in her mind, because everything that happened after felt like a dream… But no, it was all real. “You asked me if I was okay, and I felt so damn helpless, like a little girl… I didn’t want you to see me like that, but you followed me. And you said, _Runi, hey, come here._ And I kept trying to run but you gently took my wrist, and you said, _I know a place we can go._ ”

There’s visible confusion in his eyes. She can see him trying to piece it together. That was some time ago, but he should still remember it. They went to the rooftop garden. He calmed her, brushed her tears away with his warm hands, softly talked to her, told her it was okay… And then he frowned, ran a finger down her locks, and he… 

“The bouquet ribbon?” He asks, clarity and surprise in his eyes. “It was the bouquet ribbon, in your hair?”

“Yeah.” Her cheeks turn rosy as his eyes widen; she looks away, biting her lip. “And before you say you can get me any other ribbon from the flower shop, it- it wasn’t the ribbon.”

“You’ve… Lost me, Runi.”

“It was you.”

She can feel him staring at her. The weight of his eyes, eyes so blue they outshine the ocean, threaten to swallow her up. And she can feel it- the word vomit. Her mouth just _won’t stop running._

“You put the ribbon in my hair,” she says, “because even if you didn’t understand, you still knew. It was a small gesture, I’m sure it maybe didn’t mean much to you, but... It made me so happy.” 

“That… You kept it, after all this time?” He sounds astonished. Runi wants to crawl in a hole and _die,_ of course she did! She wants to say it, the words caught on the tip of her tongue, but it’s stuck in her mouth as her face turns as red as her hair. The one time words fail her is the one time she _wants_ it not to fail. _I like you,_ she wants to scream. _I like you, I like you…_ “Runi, look at me.”

It’s hard to. But she slowly turns her head… And their eyes meet again, silver and blue. And she thinks, _it’s so easy. To fall in love with you. When it’s your eyes I can’t escape._

“And I… I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she looks at their feet. “I thought… It would be nice, if… You could keep tying the ribbon in my hair, if you wouldn’t mind… Would it be so selfish? To want something like that, it’s so silly…”

Toni gently raises her chin; her mouth parts, breathless, and everything is moving so fast. She wants to kiss him. She wants to kiss him, she realizes. Softly. In the rain, lost on the other side of the world, plans ruined- she wants to kiss him. 

“Runi, I-”

Everything moves too fast. _She_ moved too fast.

Their foreheads smashed into each other when she surged forward- searing, white-hot pain explodes from the back of her eyes as she stumbles back. A sound from Toni- _hissing in pain,_ as he stumbles back, causes her eyes to fly open.

_Did she seriously just fucking do that?_

“Oh my god!” She cries, hands flying to her mouth. “I- I’m so sorry-” 

“No-- _ngh,_ it’s okay, Runi, it’s nothing,” he insists, clutching his head. There’s a patch of red in the middle of his forehead, purple bruising around it. “I, let’s just-”

“Ohh, god, oh god, it looks so bad, here, let me look…”

Before she can even think, Runi brushes his hands away from his head, surveying the bruise. 

And she presses a chaste kiss above it, earning another wince from Toni. She pulls away, mortified at the prospect of headbutting him so hard that he looks so dazed… And red-faced.

She just fucking kissed his forehead. What the hell is she thinking?

“Uh,” she starts, sputtering. “Wait here! I’m-- I’m gonna go see if I can find a first aid kit, from the shops nearby!”

“Wait, Runi-”

“Just stay here, I’ll come back!” 

“Runi!”

She stops. But she doesn’t face him.

“For the record… It did make my heart flutter,” she hears him say from behind her, albeit a little weakly. His hoarse voice kicks her into overdrive again as she walks forward.

She sprints into the rain, suddenly thankful for it. It cools down her burning cheeks as she runs away into a random direction, her smile so wide she can feel it in her cheeks.


End file.
